2019–20 EHF Challenge Cup

EHF Challenge Cup
2019–20
Tournament information
Sport	Handball
Dates	5 October 2019–24 May 2020
Teams	49
Website	eurohandball.com
Final positions
Champions	cancelled
Tournament statistics
Top scorer(s)	Damir Batinović; (32 goals)
	← 2018–19 2020–21 →

The 2019–20 EHF Challenge Cup was the 23rd edition of the European Handball Federation's third-tier competition for men's handball clubs, running from 5 October 2019 to 24 May 2020.^[1] On 24 April 2020 EHF announced that the competition would be cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

Overview

Team allocation

Round 3
CSM București	AHC Potaissa Turda	Madeira Andebol SAD	A.E.K. Athens H.C.
HC Neva SPb	Valur	Red Boys Differdange	MŠK Považská Bystrica
RK Gračanica	Halden Topphåndball	Donbass	RK Železničar 1949
JD Techniek Hurry-Up	SGS Ramhat Hashron HC	Beykoz BLD SK
Round 2
HC Dicken	HC Dobrudja	Masheka Mogilev	VHC Šviesa Vilnius
KH Kastrioti	HCB Karviná	Olympia HC	Proodeftikos Paphos
BSV Bern	SSSCJRO-1 Tiraspol	Cassano Magnago HC	Bregenz Handball
ZRHK Tenax Dobele	HC Tallinn	Mahsul HC	RK Maribor Branik
Alingsås HK	H71	Pas Aeropos Edessa	HC Victor
Handball Käerjeng	RK Sloga Doboj	Drammen HK	Odesa HC
RK Dinamo	Holon Yuvalim HC	IFK Handball Helsinki	Granitas Karys Kaunas
HC Dukla Prague	Livingston HC	HB Dudelange	HC Vogošća Poljine Hills
HC Kauno Azuolas-KTU	TJ Sokol Nové Veselí

Round and draw dates

All draws were held at the European Handball Federation headquarters in Vienna, Austria.^[3]^[4] On 25 March, the EHF announced that no matches will be played before June due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[5]

Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Round 2	16 July 2019	5–6 October 2019	12–13 October 2019
Round 3	15 October 2019	16–17 November 2019	23–24 November 2019
Last 16	26 November 2019	8–9 February 2020	15–16 February 2020
Quarter-final	18 February 2020	21–22 March 2020	28–29 March 2020
Semi-finals	18 February 2020	25–26 April 2020	2–3 May 2020
Finals	5 May 2020	16–17 May 2020	23–24 May 2020

Round 2

Teams listed first played the first leg at home. The first legs were played on 5–6 October and the second legs were played on 12–13 October 2019.^[6] Some teams agreed to play both matches in the same venue.^[7]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
KH Kastrioti	49–78 ¹	HC Dukla Prague	26–39	23–39
BSV Bern	53–52	RK Dinamo	28–24	25–28
TJ Sokol Nové Veselí	81–37 ²	HC Dobrudja	35–23	46–14
Drammen HK	74–38 ³	Mahsul HC	38–16	36–22
Alingsås HK	72–55	Handball Käerjeng	36–24	36–31
HC Kauno Azuolas-KTU	56–52 ⁴	HC Tallinn	26–24	30–28
Olympia HC	26–66 ⁵	Odesa HC	9–24	17–42
H71	49–55 ⁶	RK Maribor Branik	25–24	24–31
Masheka Mogilev	51–41	RK Sloga Doboj	30–22	21–19
Proodeftikos Paphos	35–72	Pas Aeropos Edessa	17–35	18–37
VHC Šviesa Vilnius	52–55	HC Vogošća Poljine Hills	27–24	25–31
HC Dicken	82–33 ⁷	Livingston HC	40–20	42–13
Granitas Karys Kaunas	59–50 ⁸	SSSCJRO-1 Tiraspol	33–24	26–26
IFK Handball Helsinki	53–67	Bregenz Handball	35–32	18–35
HB Dudelange	48–55	ZRHK Tenax Dobele	24–27	24–28
HCB Karviná	63–55 ⁹	Holon Yuvalim HC	31–26	32–29
HC Victor	57–50 ¹⁰	Cassano Magnago HC	33–24	26–26

Notes

¹ Both legs were hosted by HC Dukla Prague.

² Both legs were hosted by TJ Sokol Nové Veselí.

³ Both legs were hosted by Drammen HK.

⁴ Both legs were hosted by HC Tallinn.

⁵ Both legs were hosted by Odesa HC.

⁶ Both legs were hosted by H71.

⁷ Both legs were hosted by Livingston HC.

⁸ Both legs were hosted by Granitas-Karys.

⁹ Both legs were hosted by HCB Karviná.

¹⁰ Both legs were hosted by HC Victor.

Round 3

A total of 32 teams entered the draw for the third qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 15 October 2019.^[8]^[9] The draw seeding pots were composed as follows: ^[10]

Pot 1

Pot 2

Teams listed first played the first leg at home. The first legs were played on 16–17 November and the second legs were played on 23–24 November 2019.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
CSM București	59–56 ¹	Masheka Mogilev	34–28	25–28
JD Techniek Hurry-Up	47–69	Alingsås HK	21–32	26–37
HC Kauno Azuolas-KTU	57–69 ²	Halden Topphåndball	28–32	29–37
Madeira Andebol SAD	54–43 ³	RK Maribor Branik	31–23	23–20
MŠK Považská Bystrica	46–62	HC Victor	27–29	19–33
Donbass	53–61 ⁴	BSV Bern	26–25	27–36
HC Neva SPb	66–39	Pas Aeropos Edessa	35–20	31–19
ZRHK Tenax Dobele	67–70	AHC Potaissa Turda	35–38	32–32
HC Dukla Prague	47–41	RK Gračanica	26–21	21–20
Granitas Karys Kaunas	56–66 ⁵	Beykoz BLD SK	22–37	34–29
Drammen HK	64–53	HC Dicken	32–24	32–29
SGS Ramhat Hashron HC	63–53 ⁶	Odesa HC	39–28	24–25
RK Železničar 1949	58–61	HCB Karviná	30–28	28–33
TJ Sokol Nové Veselí	46–49	Red Boys Differdange	21–22	25–27
Valur	62–52 ⁷	Bregenz Handball	31–31	31–21
HC Vogošća Poljine Hills	49–74 ⁸	A.E.K. Athens H.C.	22–41	27–33

Notes

¹ Both legs were hosted by Masheka Mogilev.

² Both legs were hosted by Halden Topphåndball.

³ Both legs were hosted by Madeira Andebol SAD.

⁴ Both legs were hosted by BSV Bern.

⁵ Both legs were hosted by Beykoz BLD SK.

⁶ Both legs were hosted by SGS Ramhat Hashron HC.

⁷ Both legs were hosted by Bregenz Handball.

⁸ Both legs were hosted by A.E.K. Athens H.C.

Last 16

The draw seeding pots for the Last 16 Knockout round were composed as follows:^[11] The draw for the last 16 round was held on 26 November 2019.^[12]

Pot 1

Pot 2

The first leg was scheduled for 8–9 February, while the second leg followed on 15–16 February 2020.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
A.E.K. Athens H.C.	60–58	Drammen HK	33–31	27–27
SGS Ramhat Hashron HC	68–73	HC Victor	31–31	37–42
Beykoz BLD SK	55–57 ¹	Valur	25–26	30–31
Halden Topphåndball	46–45	HC Neva SPb	23–24	23–21
Madeira Andebol SAD	57–60	HCB Karviná	30–27	27–33
HC Dukla Prague	66–56	Red Boys Differdange	37–24	29–32
BSV Bern	68–69	AHC Potaissa Turda	33–36	35–33
Alingsås HK	52–53	CSM București	28–29	24–24

Notes

¹ Both legs were hosted by Beykoz BLD SK.

Matches

8 February 2020 18:00	A.E.K. Athens H.C.	33–31	Drammen HK	O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall, Athens Attendance: 600 Referees: Sirbu, Serdiuc (MDA)
	Buneta 9	(17–18)	Aalberg 8
	2× 5×	Report	3× 3×

16 February 2020 18:00	Drammen HK	27–27	A.E.K. Athens H.C.	Drammenshallen, Drammen Attendance: 1,012 Referees: Barysas, Petrušis (LTU)
	Horgen 10	(13–12)	Arampatzis 7
	2× 5×	Report	1× 1×

A.E.K. Athens H.C. won 60–58 on aggregate.

8 February 2020 19:00	SGS Ramhat Hashron HC	31–31	HC Victor	Oranim Sports hall, Ramat HaSharon Attendance: 700 Referees: Mikelić, Paradina (CRO)
	Vejin 8	(16–15)	three players 5
	2× 2×	Report	3× 2×

15 February 2020 15:00	HC Victor	42–37	SGS Ramhat Hashron HC	STC Lukomore, Budyonnovsk Attendance: 900 Referees: Frieser, Haramul (CZE)
	Mazurov 8	(20–16)	Pavlović 11
	2× 2×	Report	2× 4×

HC Viktor won 73–68 on aggregate.

15 February 2020 14:00	Beykoz BLD SK	25–26	Valur	Recep Sahin Köktürk Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul Attendance: 510 Referees: Bytyqi, Kasapi (KOS)
	Öztürk 6	(12–10)	Magnússon 9
	1× 6×	Report	1× 6×

16 February 2020 15:00	Valur	31–30	Beykoz BLD SK	Recep Sahin Köktürk Spor Kompleksi, Istanbul Attendance: 550 Referees: Bytyqi, Kasapi (KOS)
	Jonsson, Vignisson 6	(15–15)	three players 6
	1× 7×	Report	2× 7×

Valur won 57–55 on aggregate.

9 February 2020 16:00	Halden Topphåndball	23–24	HC Neva SPb	Remmenhallen, Halden Attendance: 362 Referees: Kull, Tint (EST)
	Cordt-Hansen, Schrøder 5	(9–14)	Nasyrov 5
	2× 4×	Report	1× 3×

16 February 2020 17:00	HC Neva SPb	21–23	Halden Topphåndball	Interuniversity sports center (MUSC), Saint Petersburg Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD)
	Nasyrov, Turaev 5	(12–15)	Molgaard, Nilsen-Nygaard 5
	2× 3×	Report	2× 6×

Halden Topphåndball won 46–45 on aggregate.

9 February 2020 19:00	Madeira Andebol SAD	30–27	HCB Karviná	Funchal Playing Hall, Funchal Attendance: 400 Referees: Harabagiu, Stănescu (ROU)
	Pedroso 7	(15–13)	Monczka 9
	1× 3×	Report	2× 5× 1×

16 February 2020 10:30	HCB Karviná	33–27	Madeira Andebol SAD	Sportovni hala házené STARS, Karviná Attendance: 1,950 Referees: Rauchs, Linster (LUX)
	Bruna, Monczka 6	(14–12)	three players 5
	2× 3×	Report	3× 2×

HCB Karviná won 60–57 on aggregate.

9 February 2020 19:30	HC Dukla Prague	37–24	Red Boys Differdange	DHC Sport Hall SK Slavia Praha, Prague Attendance: 400 Referees: Loshak, Shajbakov (UKR)
	Klíma, Patzel 8	(18–14)	Batinović 7
	3× 6×	Report	2× 5×

15 February 2020 18:00	Red Boys Differdange	32–29	HC Dukla Prague	Centre Sportif De Differdange, Oberkorn Attendance: 500 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL)
	Batinović 9	(16–14)	Klíma 7
	2× 4×	Report	3× 4×

HC Dukla Prague won 66–56 on aggregate.

9 February 2020 17:00	BSV Bern	33–36	AHC Potaissa Turda	Mobiliar Arena, Gümlingen Attendance: 450 Referees: Beqiri, Krasniqi (KOS)
	Gerlich 7	(17–17)	four players 6
	4× 3×	Report	3× 5×

16 February 2020 17:00	AHC Potaissa Turda	33–35	BSV Bern	Sala de sport Gheorghe Bariţiu, Turda Referees: Carmaux, Mursch (FRA)
	Szőke 9	(19–18)	Gerlich 10
	1× 4×	Report	1× 4×

AHC Potaissa Turda won 69–68 on aggregate.

8 February 2020 16:00	Alingsås HK	28–29	CSM București	Estrad Alingsas, Alingsas Attendance: 2,155 Referees: Weijmans, Wolbertus (NED)
	three players 5	(13–15)	Rotaru 7
	2× 3×	Report	3× 5×

15 February 2020 16:00	CSM București	24–24	Alingsås HK	Dinamo Polyvalent Hall, Bucharest Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Chrzan, Janas (POL)
	Teixeira 6	(10–10)	Claar 5
	2× 3×	Report	2× 3×

CSM București won 53–52 on aggregate.

Quarterfinals

The draw event was held at the EHF Office in Vienna on Tuesday 18 February 2020.^[13] The draw will determine the quarter-final and also the semi-final pairings. Teams listed first will play the first leg at home. For the quarter-finals, there is no seeding as all eight teams will be drawn from the same pot one after another. There will be also no country protection applied in the draw. The semi-final draw will follow using the quarter-final pairings.^[14]

The first quarter-final leg is scheduled for 21–22 March, while the second leg will follow on 28–29 March 2020.

The European Handball Federation announced on 13 March 2020, that the Quarter-final matches will not be held as scheduled due to the ongoing developments in the spread of COVID-19 across Europe.^[15]^[5] On 24 April 2020 the matches were cancelled.^[2]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
HC Victor	M1	CSM București	–	–
HCB Karviná	M2	HC Dukla Prague	–	–
A.E.K. Athens H.C.	M3	AHC Potaissa Turda	–	–
Halden Topphåndball	M4	Valur	–	–

Matches

HC Victor	Cancelled	CSM București

CSM București	Cancelled	HC Victor

HCB Karviná	Cancelled	HC Dukla Prague

HC Dukla Prague	Cancelled	HCB Karviná

A.E.K. Athens H.C.	Cancelled	AHC Potaissa Turda

AHC Potaissa Turda	Cancelled	A.E.K. Athens H.C.

Halden Topphåndball	Cancelled	Valur

Valur	Cancelled	Halden Topphåndball

Final four

The first semi-final legs was scheduled for 25–26 April 2020, while the second legs was supposed to follow on 2–3 May 2020, but it will be rescheduled and is foreseen to be played in an EHF FINAL4 format in one venue over two playing days.^[5] On 24 April 2020 the matches were cancelled.^[2]

Bracket

	Semifinals				Final












					Third place

Semifinals

TBD	Cancelled	TBD

TBD	Cancelled	TBD

Third place game

LSF1	Cancelled	LSF2

Final

WSF1	Cancelled	WSF2

Top goalscorers

As of 16 February 2020

Rank	Player	Club	Goals^[16]
1	Damir Batinović	Red Boys Differdange	34
2	Milan Pavlović	SGS Ramat Hasharon HC	30
3	Matěj Klíma	HC Dukla Prague	28
	Marek Monczka	HCB Karviná
	Yakup Yasar Simsar	Beykoz BLD SK